


Nukleopatra

by Postsynthcomrade5



Category: The Young Ones (TV 1982)
Genre: 1980s, 1990s, 80's Music, 90's Music, Alternate Universe - 1990s, Autism, Autism Spectrum, British, British Comedy, British English, British Slang, Canon Non-Binary Character, Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, England (Country), Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Genderqueer, Genderqueer Character, Headcanon, Inspired by Music, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Music, Trans, Trans Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:29:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27701399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Postsynthcomrade5/pseuds/Postsynthcomrade5
Relationships: Vyvyan Basterd/Rick (Young Ones)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

It was 1985 and Top of the Pops was on the television, Rick was resting comfortably on the sofa waiting in anticipation at what pop musician was going to perform their hit new record that day, records ended up being what the new hit song was about, even though Rick's own record player was destroyed by Vyvyan a few years ago but he was able to get a cheap replacement which worked just as well,

as soon as the opening chords played and the announcers gave the names of who was performing that day, it ended up being Dead Or Alive, 

while Neil was looking after some plants, Vyvyan was studying for an exam and Mike was looking through the paper for some hotlines to call, Rick was shaking with excitement as he gazed at the luminescent television screen while in the Top of the Pops studio, Pete Burns began to sing, with his long luscious curly hair and dark glasses, Rick watched in awe as halfway through the song he started to sing the lyrics while dancing around the living room which to the annoyance of his other housemates.

"If, I, would like to get to know your name"  
Well I could trace, Your private number, baby" Pete sung onstage as Rick joined in

as the song continued, none of the housemates could escape the chrous occurring from the living room.

"YOU SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND BABY, RIGHT ROUND, LIKE A RECORD BABY, RIGHT ROUND, ROUND ROUND!"

Neil went to get dinner ready as he asked, "What's going on" 

Vyvyan dashed downstairs angrily, "I'll spin him right round in a minute"

Before Vyvyan was about to attack Rick for the third time that week, he noticed something peculiar, when Rick had his eyes glued to the Top of the Pops screen, it was as if the mechanism in his brain that made him scream and yell had been switched off and replaced with one of Neil's herbal teas, he seemed oddly calm and happy? as he fixated on the curly-haired popstar on the television screen, Vyvyan preferred happy Rick over Angry Rick any day so he went back upstairs to continue his studying.


	2. Chapter 2

Gender wise, stereotypically, Mike, Neil, Vyvyan and Rick would be referred to as men, but how did they feel about that, regardless of how they felt or how they expressed their identities in their private lives it was a different story for each of them, this is Rick's perspective.

When he wasn't attending Sociology lectures or bickering with Vyvyan over silly things, Rick loved anything and everything to do with the "New Romantic Movement", at goth and new wave clubs, he could dance to Marc Almond, Divine, Bowie and Dead Or Alive without worrying about being beaten up by bigots or looked down upon by more traditional people.

He loved applying pink blush to his cheeks like Annie Lennox, wearing rat tails like Curt Smith from Tears For Fears and covering his blazer in badges like Joan Jett and Pete Burns.

When around people he could socialise well with, he would go on about what performance from top of the pops he preferred or what member of Duran Duran was the hottest, conversations he wouldn't dare have with the housemates.

Despite what he was assigned with at birth, he felt like the gender roles he was given was very restrictive....he actually used to be a girl, he hadn't legally changed his name yet, Rick was just a nickname, his parents weren't really the type who would talk about LGBT topics openly, however the first thing he ever wrote the name on was one of his favourite dresses.

He didn't feel completely like a bloke either, he didn't like how men were stereotypically supposed to be, sometimes he likes presenting masculinely and he preferred he/they pronouns but generally, when it came to gender expression it was like choosing what record he was going to listen to that day, something that changed depending on the day and mood.

He had a condition that made it hard for him to socialize with people sometimes, this again was something he wouldn't admit to the housemates, so he sometimes vented about it through self-deprecating humour, holding in the internalised ableism resulted in the odd few misunderstandings, times when he made jokes that didn't land or symptoms showed during conversations that he didn't recognize at the time, he felt like he messed up everything when he wasn't listening to music or studying, most conversations had to be about his "hyper fixations".

He felt lonely, he wrote poetry, he had no idea where to place his gender identity, it didn't help that Mags had introduced Section 28 which prevented a lot of people from learning about different sexualities.


	3. Chapter 3

Years past and it was 1996, Jarvis Cocker was the hit Rockstar that week and a lot of the 80s musicians Rick adored had either moved on or changed genre, a few days ago he had a bought a new record by the same band that made that very song the decade previously about spinning one.

he had arrived back from a Sociology lecture, his social skills had improved slightly, but he was still trying to navigate his way around the strange world that is Great Britain, he could hear a familiar-sounding song, a song from the new vinyl he had recently purchased, he was furious.

he groaned and then let a loud yelp before metaphorically screaming the house down, "VYVYAN!, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT GETTING YOUR HANDS OFF MY RUDDY PROPERTY"

once he made his way into his room, he noticed Vyvyan being noticeably quiet while listening to the deep sounds of Pete Burns singing.

which distracted him, as he got into the same hyper fixative trance he was in when he had seen Pete on Top of the Pops years ago.

"I was a brand new gender  
Not a man, woman, boy or a girl  
I was a brand new species  
In a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world  
I look good in make-up  
What's the matter with cheating?  
The other queens all called an emergency meeting  
Had the king of Japan sending me telegrams saying  
You look like a woman but you're obviously a man  
I was"

Rick paused his dancing shoes for a second as he heard Vyvyan quietly sing the final lyrics in his raspy voice.  
  
"N-U-K-L-E-O-P-A-T-R-A"  
Nukleopatra

Rick decided to join in as the song came to an end

  
"N-U-K-L-E-O-P-A-T-R-A"  
Nukleopatra

Vyvyan looked at him, as Rick then tried to think of an excuse for why he had the record "well you see I um, well it was on sale and um?", Vyvyan turned off the record player as he looked up at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said casually and calmly 

Rick felt flustered as he turned bright red,

"It's not what you think Vyvyan, I just think Pete Burns is a very attractive man, I don't want to snog him, I know nobody would be interested in an artsy whiny virgin like me, a miserable, overdramatic bastard" he then felt very sniffly as he started to cry, he didn't want to cry in front of Vyvyan because he knew Vyvyan would probably get at him for being a baby or some rubbish like that, but he couldn't help it, his secret hyper fixation for Pete's memorable melodies had been unveiled to his housemate before his eyes, through a song which referenced how he felt about his gender identity, he didn't know what to do.

He shook slightly as he wept, while Vyvyan folded his hands, 

Rick said, "Why would I tell you, what do I need to tell you, other than leave my property alone, it's....it's a record that's very personal to me!"

Vyvyan put a hand round Rick's shoulder, "Because I'm the same, why do you think I kept making all those jokes about being a gay boy, I could spot it from a while away, it's alright, I'm Gay too, We were still figuring ourselves out back then weren't we?, it was just hard for us to communicate because you hadn't come to terms with it yet and neither had I, so we just expressed it through jokes, well that and I wasn't a fan of your pretentious attitude but then again I had my reckless moments too"

Rick shivered as he responded "Why are you being so nice or understanding all of a sudden

Vyvyan responded in a softer tone than usual, "Because.....I'm Genderqueer,"

Rick took a while to process the information, he then answered "I'm Genderqueer too, sometimes there are days where I feel like a girl and days where I feel either like a man or just me you know?, and while I like feminine art and fashion, I don't align with it all the time, I find the boxes of Gender to be quite restrictive....and to hear that being expressed in a song by an artist I absolutely adore, felt wonderful, we're not often represented in music are we?

Vyvyan looked at the window, "No we're not unless you count Rebel Rebel by David Bowie, but he was an androgynous cis man, to people like him, expressing androgynously is a costume that he could just take off, but for us, it's part of our everyday life"

Rick nodded, "yeah, but who cares what society thinks, we should wave our pride flags up high and be proud of who we are, in a few years people like us will be able to share our voices to the rest of the world,"

Vyvyan smiled back at him, "like that Pete Burns bloke says, we are a brand new gender, we are Nukleopatra, he then leaned closer to Rick, "you're my Nukleopatra" and kissed him lightly on the cheeks

Rick blushed but he enjoyed the kiss, he knew now that he could talk to Vyv about anything and he'd understand, he could read his fashion mags and wear his dresses without being mocked, they even went to a few pride parades together, some of which had Pete Burns performing live the very song that Rick had bought the record of years ago...

N-U-K-L-E-O-P-A-T-R-A


End file.
